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For over 30 years, oboist Kirsten Lipkens has performed, taught and created educational programs to inspire audiences of all ages to appreciate and explore the art of music. Kirsten welcomes students of all ages and abilities to her studio. She studied oboe performance at Eastman School of Music and Yale School of Music. Her teachers include Alicia Chapman, Neil Boyer, Richard Killmer, Ronald Roseman, and Peggy Pearson. Kirsten has performed in Japan, Europe, and the United States, with several appearances in Carnegie Hall and The Kennedy Center.

An avid chamber music artist, she founded a chamber music festival in New Hampshire. As a member of The Battell Woodwind Quintet, she participated in a residency in Dodge City, KS sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts and was a finalist in the Fischoff Competition. Most recently, as a member of the Deerfield Quintet, she enjoyed performing throughout Western Massachusetts.

Kirsten has performed with symphony orchestras in Charlottesville (VA), Richmond (VA), Virginia, West Virginia, Vermont, New Hampshire, Springfield (MA), Glens Falls (NY), Albany (NY), and Rhode Island. She also toured Germany and the Netherlands with a production of Phantom of the Opera.

Kirsten has taught at the University of Virginia, Smith College, Mount Holyoke College, UMass Amherst and Western New England University. She is currently teaching at Springfield College and Amherst College.

For two years she served as the Education Director of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra where she developed unique educational programs for all ages, wrote grants and oversaw the operations of the two youth orchestras.

Recordings include: 1) Eastman Wind Ensemble, Donald Hunsberger, Live in Osaka, Sony Classical – SK 47198, 2) Harlequinade, Albemarle Ensemble, Virginia Arts Recording and 3) Lewis Spratlan, Architect, Navona Records.